6: GHOSTS AND SECRETS

PLEASE READ THE NOTE BENEATH THE STORY. THERE IS AN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

Dedicated to all my wonderful readers. You make writing a joy.

***

A little boy ran through the halls of councilman Ernest's house. A smile on his face as he enjoyed being chased by his nanny. He turned towards a corner and continued running, looking for where to hide at the same time.

Suddenly he fell to the ground scared at what just happened. A chill had gone through his bones as he was running. Almost like he had run through a block of ice. The little boy sat down scared wondering if he had encountered a ghost.

His nanny came running, hoping to catch him off guard. " ready or not here I come to catch you young master. "

But when she got there she saw the little child cradling himself in fear.

" what happened? " she asked terribly worried. If anything happened to the child, it would be her life at stake.

The little boy looked at her and held unto her in fear. His face had turned pale and this scared his nanny. " Nanny a ghost tried to eat me. "

Her mind calmed down.

The boy must have imagined it.

She smiled at him. " don't worry" she said bending to his level " there are no ghosts in this house. "

" but it touched me. " the boy said trying to make her believe him.

She rolled her eyes and held out her hands to him.

He grabbed it sad that he wasn't believed but his nanny was shocked as his hand came in contact with hers.

It was ice cold and she wondered how a child who had been warm few minutes back could have grown that cold so easily.

Could it be that he had actually seen a ghost?

In a part of the house not too far from them, two figures walked together, both wearing invisible cloaks which kept them safe from prying eyes.

They walked towards a study and through the walls into the study. A large shelf decorated the room filled with old and new books.

Funny how a man who was barely intelligent kept such a large quantity of books.

They rearranged books in a random manner - which made sense to them only and the owner of the study - until the shelf slid to one corner revealing a room within.

They had been here several times and had been waiting for the perfect time to find what they needed.

Now they had finally succeeded.

And hopefully their sister would succeed too.

***

The princess dressed in her training outfit and sat on the field waiting for Leonard to arrive.

Today she had sacrificed eating just so she could start her training even more early than usual.

But Leonard was yet to arrive.

She sat back staring up into the sky, enjoying the beauty of it. She watched the birds and the clouds come together to form a beautiful picture.

A smile had formed on her lips and it was at this moment Leonard arrived.

He threw a knife and she sent it flying to another direction with her sword.

" you kept me waiting. " she said rising to her feet.

" the king assigned me a task to take care of. " he said coming closer.

" well you should have let me know earlier instead of wasting my time. " she sheathed her sword and moved closer as well.

He took a fighting stance. " but you seemed to be enjoying yourself. "

" I was merely bored and had nothing else to do. Otherwise I would not have engaged in such frivolities. "

He only smiled in return and threw a punch to her face.

But she dodged and threw a punch to his armpit wanting to weaken his arm but Leonard as ever was too fast and caught her hand just in time.

Both struggled trying to overpower one another.

And Leonard finally succeeded in bending her arm to her back.

Just as he let her go, the sound of running feet came to them, getting louder by the second.

They stopped, wondering what was going on.

Leonard grew alert and drew his sword, moving closer to the princess to protect her if need be.

In a few minutes two other guards came running through the forest into the open field.

" your highness you need to get to the castle we've received news that the castle is about to be attacked. " one of them said.

The princess looked worried. " has my father been informed? " she asked drawing her sword.

" yes he has and he asked us to bring you. " the other replied.

" ok but can I tell you something you didn't know? " she asked smiling with her eyebrows raised.

Both guards looked at her confused.

" my father wouldn't have asked you to bring me. He would have asked you to tell Leonard to get me to the safe house. "

Both guards knew now that they had been caught and prepared themselves for the fight at hand.

" But thanks for the info. Mari! " she screamed.

The cheetah leaped out from behind the guards, capturing one in his mouth. She wasted no time in tearing the guards to pieces. The guards armour could not save him from the cheetah.

Leonard wasted no time in going after the second guard.

The guard tried to fight for his life but he was no match for Leonard.

Leonard quickly ended his life with a slit to his throat.

The guard slid to his knees choking on his blood and then falling face down to ground.

Leonard whistled and a white horse came raising into the field from its hidden spot in the forest.

" get on this horse and get to the safe house. You, your father and I are the only ones who know it's location and can open the barrier. Don't come out until I come find you. I need to go warn the king. " he said grabbing her hand trying to help her on the horse but she refused and stood her ground.

" I can't do that. I need to be sure my father is safe. If I were to leave him behind and anything were to happen to him I would never forgive myself. Please understand me. " she said when she saw him try to deny her request.

He tried to argue but she wasn't going to have any of that.

" either you let me do this or I do it on my own. " she said stubbornly.

" I can't be worried about protecting you and the king at the same time. " he said sounding frustrated.

" I can protect myself and I have Mari. " she said petting the cheetah who now stood beside her. " by the way if I take the horse and Mari how will you get to the palace? "

He resigned himself knowing that he had already lost. He had forgotten that the princess didn't bring her horse.

" well we better get to the castle quick so we can warn them early. But you should know that some of the sisters of light were already at the palace having a meeting with your father. " he said climbing the horse. " If we have more visitors than we bargained for we just might need their help. "

She climbed on Mari holding tightly unto her. " to the castle Mari. We need to go save father. "

They sped through the forest and in no time were at the castle gates. One of the guards lay there covered in a pool of blood.

As they moved closer into the building, more bodies were seen. Some with slit throats, some stabbed mercilessly and some others appeared to have had their insides boiled by witches or turned to logs of dried wood.

They could only hope that their coming here was not invain.

Author's note

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